At his time of year, patients often bring their concerns about losing weight into the treatment room. The word "diet" gives me hives just to think about it. And honestly, the inquiries as to whether acupuncture works for weight loss make me a little squirmy. Because they usually mean, "I had a friend who got 'ear staples' and lost 20 pounds in three weeks." I can't speak to the validity of such claims or promise these results. However, as with all other aspects of health, Chinese medicine does offer us hope and help.
In the broadest of brush strokes, Chinese medicine can be said to work by achieving inner balance. We always start the healing process by correcting what appears out of balance. Weight management is a dicey topic because the underlying issues can be very complex, ranging from emotional trauma to potential hormonal imbalances. Treatment begins with a complete differential diagnosis, which accounts for the uniqueness of each person. It isn't always as simple as just controlling appetite. Hence, my reticence in jumping on the one size fits all lose weight quick band wagon.
All that being said, we can glean some broadly applicable wisdom from Chinese medicine about achieving healthy weight. From this vantage point, we can also better understand why so many of our efforts fail.
Diet Is A Four Letter Word
Our main focus is usually going on the right "diet." Fad diets come and go, but what they have in common is food restriction. We've counted calories, shunned carbs, reduced fat, replaced sugar, eschewed meat, and gorged on grapefruits. Far from being effective long term strategies, we are actually gaining even more weight. What is clear about dieting is that it doesn't work.
Why don't diets work? Diets promote the idea that a temporary imbalance through food restriction will yield a permanent state of balance in weight management. That's just wrong on its face. This focus on an imbalanced restrictive diet requires us to exercise will power to control appetite. That's ill fated and here's why.
From a Chinese medical perspective, appetite is a function of the Stomach Qi complex. In a balanced state, the appetite drives us to consume what we need to be healthy. It is like any other physiological process that organically functions without mental effort. Just imagine if we had to think about making our hearts beat or digesting food. Indeed, we are only aware of these processes when something is wrong. Appetite, in its natural state, is just like that. It simply drives us to eat nourishing food when we have a true sense of hunger, and to stop when we've had enough.
When out of balance, the appetite no longer is appropriate. It can pull us into head games fraught with overpowering cravings and angst throughout the day. If our appetites are exhibiting these toddler-esque temper tantrums, it's a clear sign that all is not well in our kingdom of Stomach Qi. Oh, but what to do, what to do?
Stop Dieting and Lose Weight
The answer is to restore the Stomach Qi. This can be done through consuming a properly balanced nourishing diet. The best way to stay true to this principle is to avoid processed foods and cook "real whole food." In Chinese medicine, we feed ourselves three balanced meals a day at the traditional times for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We also recognize that cooked and warm food is better for the Stomach Qi than raw and cold. Most importantly, every effort should be made to make this healthy food taste good, so it satisfies the appetite.
The kicker is that this process of eating appropriately can never be done by using will power to over-restrict the diet. It defies the laws of nature, as perceived by the ancient Chinese. Your appetite will ultimately rebel against dietary fascism, as sure as gravity pulls an apple onto Newton's head. The natural appetite for good tasty nourishment must be satisfied or the whole scheme falls apart.
Now this doesn't mean that you can throw will power to the wind, follow an inappropriate appetite and expect to lose weight. There is a certain circular pattern of imbalance that can manifest. Imbalanced Stomach Qi appears as inappropriate appetite, which drives poor eating habits, further degrading the Stomach Qi and distorting the appetite. On and on that downward spiral goes.
Of course, acupuncture treatment is a way out of the self perpetuating cycle of imbalance. With balance restored, the body's deep wisdom takes over to run the appetite show without having to think it through so much. What I am suggesting is that lifestyle adjustments can also be used to help correct the imbalanced state. This requires us to make eating choices through the wise application of our will. We must feed, not deprive ourselves. The trick is to concentrate first on getting enough yummy healthy food (wisdom), as opposed to over focusing on what you shouldn't eat (will power). Ultimately, your Stomach Qi will actually prefer the taste of carrot soup over donuts. Sounds far fetched, I know. Trust me. It's true.
I hope this article provides useful insights into managing your weight with less stress.
After leaving behind a decade of practicing as an attorney, I received my Masters of Acupuncture in 2002 from the Traditional Acupuncture Institute in Columbia, Maryland. For the past decade and every day I am increasingly grateful to do this amazing work. For more information about how acupuncture treatment might help you with your health concerns and my practice philosophy, please visit my website athttp://www.familyacupuncturecenter.org. To see my monthly newsletters, go tohttp://archive.constantcontact.com/fs112/1111272225768/archive/1113335733870.html
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